Torres Withdraws from 100m Free
July 10, 2008 by Sandy Mitchell
Filed under Sports Rumors
Image details: U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials – Day Eight served by picapp.com
Dara Torres, who astounded Olympic swimming gurus and spectators by qualifying for two events (and her fifth Olympics) at age 41, announced Monday that she will be dropping out of the Women’s 100m Freestyle competition to concentrate on the 50m. She may also compete in one or two relays. Third place finisher, Lacey Nymeyer will take her place in the 100m.
I have to say that I love the Torres story. She’s the first to admit that she’s not perfect. She’s talked about her struggle with bulimia and she’s been divorced twice. Yet her determination to get herself back into Olympic–and winning–form at 41 is inspiring to women of “a certain age” all over the world.
Torres already has nine Olympic medals–four gold, one silver, and four bronze. You just can’t help but root for her in Beijing.
It was brave of Dara Torres, to tell her story about her struggle with Bulimia. Many athletes develop eating disorders because they are pushed to be thinner in order to perform better…at least that’s what many of their competitive coaches seem to think. But they tend to forget about their physical and mental health along the way and the toll that severe dieting and exercise puts on your body. Check out our CED Blog for more information on eating disorders and to read our post on “Athletes and Disordered Eating.” http://eatingdisorder.org/blog/2008/03/27/
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